When it came to launching his first sunglasses collection for Loewe, Jonathan Anderson had a pretty clear idea of what was important. “A good-quality glass screen and a bold frame,” the designer said. Except, of course, this is his Loewe, so nothing is ever that simple or straightforward. While he has ticked off both of those qualities with this collection, made in conjunction with Thélios, there’s more here than meets the eye. Anderson is well versed in imbuing his work with all sorts of intriguing narratives and crisscrossing references, fusing artisanal craft with witty and imaginative design; he was never going to just slap the Loewe logo onto pairs that look like they came out of the Sunglasses 101 design guide and leave it at that.
There are three styles, for both women and men: Puzzle, an elongated and rounded metal aviator frame with a “third eye” lens at the bridge; Tyra, a chunky, ’80s-esque acetate and metal pair that I’m sincerely hoping were named for the America’s Next Top Model icon; and Jinkx, a metallic rectangular style surmounted by a topstitched leather band and, it’s also to be hoped—please, please, please—named in honor of RuPaul’s Drag Race superstar Jinkx Monsoon.
“I try to build up a consistent Loewe character, and the sunglasses are part of it,” Anderson said. “Innovation is reflected in the three lenses of the Puzzle model, and leather is used in some of the models to illustrate craft.” They’re going to be launched with a shindig in Ibiza—the location, coincidentally, of the boutique that inspired the two terrific Loewe x Paula’s collections he has done—and that’s one place Anderson would wear them. The other, he says, would be “the English countryside, where I spend the weekends.” Given the often inclement British summer weather, he might need a rose-tinted pair to really get the best out of that view.
